


When Northern Lights Are Dancing

by amooniesong



Series: Eurovision but it's Minecraft Youtubers [3]
Category: Eurovision Song Contest RPF, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Eurovision Song Contest, Concerts, Gen, Insecurity, Melodi Grand Prix, Musicians, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amooniesong/pseuds/amooniesong
Summary: Niki was a nervous wreck. She, Fundy and Fred were in their dressing room listening to the show going on several metres above their heads over the intercom and while Fundy and Fred were both composed, she was struggling to remain that way.--------------Niki, Fundy and Fred compete in the Melodi Grand Prix as KEiiNO to secure their spot as the Norwegian representatives for this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Relationships: Floris | Funday & Fred Buljo, Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu, Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu & Fred Buljo, Niki | Nihachu & Alexander Rybak, Niki | Nihachu & Fred Buljo
Series: Eurovision but it's Minecraft Youtubers [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926178
Comments: 12
Kudos: 14





	When Northern Lights Are Dancing

Niki was a nervous wreck. She, Fundy and Fred were in their dressing room listening to the show going on several metres above their heads over the intercom and while Fundy and Fred were both  _ composed,  _ she was struggling to remain that way. Her hands wouldn’t stay still, her arms by her side and her fingers fiddling with the fabric of her dress. She could hear the cheers of the audience as Alexander’s song came to an end, he’d sounded so  _ confident  _ throughout and she swallowed nervously as she began to pace up and down the short length of the room.

“Niki?” Fundy questioned, looking up from where he sat. Fred’s gaze followed, and Niki felt her shoulders falling. They reassured her, and she was glad that she had them by her side. They weren’t just her bandmates, they were her friends, and she couldn’t ask for anyone better than them.

“What’s wrong?” Fred asked gently. They both waited for her answer, patiently, not pushing her even as the sound of the hosts speaking on stage began to ring out in the room. The footsteps of Alexander and the dancers filled the corridor, their laughter infectious yet somehow she remained utterly unphased.

“I didn’t qualify last year.” She said quietly. “I don’t want to let you both down.”

“Niki--” Fred began.

“No, I know what you’re going to say, I  _ know  _ you’ll say that I won’t let you down and maybe I won’t, but if I don’t qualify this year after trying so hard I’ll have let myself down. I need to prove to myself that I’ve grown over the last year, if I’m just the same…” Niki folded her arms across her chest, holding herself to try and give herself the comfort she needed in that moment. “If I’m the same, I’ll be disappointed in myself. I came back to prove I’m better.”

“Niki, you are a  _ fantastic  _ singer.” Fundy told her flatly, leaving no room for argument as he turned completely in his seat. “I saw you last year, I  _ knew  _ from the moment I first heard you singing that I wanted  _ you  _ in this song, and I’m still amazed you accepted. We’ve worked hard together, you’ve not stopped, whether or not we win tonight has no bearing on whether or not you’re better than last year.”

“And if we don’t win, you could  _ easily  _ sign a contract with some American company.” Fred pointed out. “They’d make you a superstar overnight. You have a fantastic voice Niki. If you make it you have to bring Fundy and I with you, I’ll teach them how to joik.” 

“Oh, no, Niki please don’t do that.” Fundy laughed. “I don’t need to hear American’s butchering joiking. It’ll be a trend on TikTok within  _ minutes.”  _

Niki felt herself letting out a quiet laugh, her body loosening up a little as her friends encouraged and relaxed her. They had faith in her, she needed to have faith in herself. 

“We’re the last ones.” She said, putting on the widest smile she could muster up.

“That’ll give us an advantage in voting.” Fred reminded her, and Fundy wordlessly got to his feet. He walked past Niki - reaching out with a hand and squeezing her shoulder tightly - and quietly dipped out of the dressing room. It left Niki and Fred alone, and he gave her a gentle smile that beckoned her closer. She sat herself down in Fundy’s seat, resting her hands in her lap as she looked at the Sami man with soft eyes.

“Thank you.” She told him. “You are a wonderful friend, Fred. You are a kind man, you are incredibly talented, Fundy and I are lucky to be working with you.” 

“And I’m lucky to be working with you both, too. I get to share my culture with the world, there’s not a bigger stage in Europe than Eurovision.”

“We aren’t quite there yet.” Niki reminded him, brushing a few strands of hair back into place.

“We’ll be there in a few hours.” He smiled, before sitting back in his chair and starting to hum along to the song playing over the intercom. Niki turned her head to look into the mirror before her, one of the many that surrounded her, and she smiled at her reflection. The makeup artist had done a wonderful job: she looked and felt like she’d already qualified for Eurovision, even though she knew if she had she’d be wearing something far more extravagant. Her dress was  _ normal  _ by Eurovision standards - plenty of glitter and a little poof on the skirt, but nothing particularly eye catching - and her makeup wasn’t so excessive that she couldn’t imagine just walking home in it afterward. 

She felt her confidence continuing to grow and she quietly carried out a few breathing exercises as the first song came to an end. It wasn’t long before the second started up and her heart started to quicken again. Time was passing so much more quickly than she’d expected it to.

The third song came and went, and the fourth began. Wherever Fundy had gone, he hadn’t come back yet, and Niki was starting to get nervous because of that. He hadn’t mentioned to them where he was going and if he’d just gone to the bathroom then  _ surely  _ he should be back by now. Was he sick? He wasn’t the sort of person that would just  _ run,  _ right? This was his song, he wouldn’t back out without saying anything.

When the fourth came to an end and Niki could hear the hosts talking again she was ready to get to her feet and start searching backstage for him when she caught a glimpse of the door handle shifting in the mirror. He was back, and she could relax.

Except when the door opened, it wasn’t just Fundy that came in. Behind him was none other than--

“Alexander?!” Niki turned her head sharply, her eyes widening as she looked at the man. He might not have been on stage but his smile was just as large and his eyes just as bright. The man embodied Eurovision, he’d been twice and it was  _ obvious  _ just how much the contest mattered to him. He loved every part of it, and Niki could say the same about herself.

“Niki, welcome back!” He beamed, and she got to her feet to greet him. As soon as she was standing his arms were open wide and she moved as quickly as her shoes would allow her to. Somehow, despite her heels, she was still short enough for her head to rest against his shoulder when he pulled her into an embrace.

“Alexander, I can’t believe you even  _ remember me  _ after last year.”

“Of course I do, Niki, you’re a star!” He said, pulling back from her just enough for one hand to move to her face and gently cup her cheek. A thumb brushed over her skin, and he was careful not to smudge her makeup  _ too much.  _ “You’re going to do  _ amazingly  _ tonight, I’m rooting for you.”

_ “You  _ are rooting for  _ me?”  _ She breathed, and he laughed.

“I’m rooting for  _ KEiiNO,  _ but I know that you’ll be the one to take these two to Sweden.”

“And the one to  _ beat  _ Sweden.” Fred added, the other three in the room laughing as he got to his feet. “We need to head up to the stage soon or they’ll start thinking we aren’t performing.”

“We’re  _ definitely  _ performing.” Fundy said. “Better than anyone else, they don’t stand a chance against Fred and I, let alone Niki Nihachu.”

“Well, Alexander, I better go make you proud.” Niki smiled at the man beside her, his fond gaze causing her face to light up even more. Before she could move both his hands came to her shoulders and he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead - quick and gentle, but drawing out the last little bit of confidence that was inside of her. 

“You’ve already made me proud, Niki. I’ll bring the champagne when you three qualify.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Alex.” Fundy sent a wink in his direction, and Niki held both her hands out in front of her. 

“Come on boys, we’ve got a  _ Grand Prix  _ to win.”

# # #

The three stood in near darkness, backlighting illuminating the dancers more than them as the music began to play. Niki smiled, teasing her bottom lip with her teeth and fiddling with the microphone in her hand as she heard Fundy starting to sing behind her.

“Can’t you stay, stay with me into the night? Stay, I need you close. You can go back when the sun rise again, just stay tonight, just stay.”

As Fundy stopped singing Niki took in a breath and raised her microphone to her lips, letting herself close her eyes. The lights were still low, no one could  _ really  _ see her face as she began to sing.

“Have you seen my spirit, lost in the night? The violent nightshade, they took away my light. They call us nothing--” her eyes snapped open, she could feel the warmth of the LEDs starting to shine on her left. “--My name is nothing. Come see me, please see me.”

With her earpiece in she couldn’t hear the cheers of the audience, all she could hear was the song in her head, and all she could feel was the vibrations in the stage, the gentle wisps of smoke against her ankles. Her shoulders began to move just a little as she let the music take control and her smile widened. This was what she did best, she  _ knew  _ she was good at singing, and she was going to  _ win.  _

“‘Cause I’ve been running with the demons now, they all see my fear. They say there’s nothing, nothing here.” 

“I see your spirit in the sky!” Fundy sang as the lights behind them suddenly grew. Rather than just a few blue beams they were now fully illuminated, and the floor of the stage lit up with a beautiful turquoise pattern as the three moved out of their starting position.

“When northern lights are dancing.” 

“He-lo e loi-la.” Fred began, and the three turned in perfect synchronisation as the music intensified and the chorus grew with Fundy belting out his line.

“I hear you calling me at night.”

“Whenever wind is blowing!”

“He-lo e loi-la.”

They turned to face each other, their bodies moving with the music, smiles completely filling their faces as cheers grew louder and louder. The audience loved them - they danced and sang along - and Niki could barely control herself. She was enjoying this so much more than she thought she would, the nerves were gone, and she melted into the lyrics.

“I can see your spirit in the sky, when northern lights are dancing.” She and Fundy sang together in perfect harmony, taking it all in. This was what she was born to do: what she was  _ meant  _ to do. It was perfect. 

“He-lo e loi-la, čajet dan čuovgga.” The three sang together, and as the chorus ended they walked across the stage to take their own spikes. Fundy stood to her right, Fred to her left, and Niki took centre stage. As Fundy finished his lines again she began her own, and her enjoyment was obvious as her hips and shoulders moved with the beat.

“I need a hero, I need my light. Her shining lightwaves will break away the night.” The lights behind her turned into beautiful greens, dancing as if they were the northern lights themselves. “I call it freedom, our name is freedom. Come find me, please find me. ‘Cause I am dancing with the fairies now, they all sing our name, I got my light here, shining here!”

Fred and Fundy walked toward her and the chorus came around again, the beat louder, the lights brighter, and their harmonies just as beautiful. As it came to an abrupt end the lights went low, and she and Fundy walked in opposite directions to the edge of the stage as Fred began to joik. 

It was as exquisite now as it was when she’d first heard it, but she had no time to enjoy it like she did in the studio. In a matter of seconds her microphone was at her lips and she was singing softly, watching the dancers out of the corner of her eye as they created beautiful, almost  _ impossible  _ shapes with their bodies. Drummers joined them on stage, the lights grew again, and the three were in the centre of the stage once more as the chorus repeated for the last time. 

Niki sung her heart out, Fred joiked perfectly, and Fundy sang a stunning melody. The sea of people before them jumped up and down, they clapped and cheered, they waved flags and glow sticks.

And when it was all over and the three made it backstage, they voted. They voted in droves.

They performed again in the Gold Final, and the same electricity that had been in the atmosphere during their first performance was there again. Niki had almost fallen upon hearing they were through to the Golden Duel, jumping into Fred’s arms (and only  _ just  _ being caught by him). 

During their final performance Niki sang like her life depended on it. Even if they didn’t qualify now she  _ knew  _ she’d done the best she could, she knew that she’d given it her all and that she’d done better than the year before. Nothing could have been done if anyone was better than them. It was down to the public now, and she hoped that she had done enough to win their hearts this year. She stood on stage with Fundy and Fred at her side, holding their hands tightly and squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for the presenter to say  _ something.  _

When it was announced that they’d be representing Norway in Eurovision, she’d cried. She’d cried and cried and cried until her throat was raw and her eyes were sore. She’d embraced Fundy and Fred, and for the rest of the evening her body was constantly moving in some way. She jumped, her legs bobbed up and down, she laughed and she tossed her hair around: she was simply too excited to stay still.

And when Alexander showed up backstage with the promise champagne and glasses, he wasn’t spared from the hugs either. 

But qualifying for Eurovision was the easy part. Now, they had a song contest to win.

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S NATIONAL FINAL SEASON BABYYYYY!!! 
> 
> if you don't know the song, it's ["spirit in the sky"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq1bH_uo1nU) by keiino & was performed by the band at eurovision in 2019. it came 6th. THEY WERE ROBBED, THE JURIES ARE STUPID, IN THIS ESSAY I WILL--
> 
> anyway, if you enjoyed, please leave a comment or kudos, & make sure you've read the other fics in the series! you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moonieiswriting) if you'd like updates for my fics, or if you want more of me in general you can join my [discord server!](https://discord.gg/berzY3JvqN) thanks so much for reading!


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